News

While out looking at Christmas lights as a family on Wednesday, Dec. 21, the Mulwa family of five lost their home to a fire.

Many people think Gardner Lake is part of the city of Gardner. Many people do not know the history of the lake’s construction.

For months residents have fought against large truck traffic barreling back and forth on rural roads in unincorporated southern parts of the county. On Thursday, Dec.

The Olathe home in East Olathe that has featured nearly 200 Christmas inflatables ends its run this Christmas, December 25. The homemade display in the front yard at Mur-Len Road and Indian Creek Parkway began 15 years ago as a joke that blossomed into a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Paul Craig’s mother who passed away from leukemia. A wonderland of penguins that began with a single penguin inflatable for Craig’s wife Cindy has now raised $87,500 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society the last 15 years. Craig hopes to raise $100,000 by the end. He said he hopes to find a charitable group that can give the penguins a new home with a similar purpose. The Craigs can no longer run the display due to aging health issues, the work involved and logistics. The display began with one penguin and now includes a 27-foot-tall centerpiece known as Penguinzilla that has to come down on high wind days. It takes two months to assemble and install all the inflatables. The Craigs have to check daily for tips and rapid sewing repairs. Then there is the responsibility of taking it all down and storing them every year. The display has become an annual tradition of joy and smiles for many families in Johnson County over the years. The small home and cul-de-sac gets overtaken every year by thousands of families and children with lit up faces of joy. “It’s so much fun and the smiles and the laughter make everything worth it,” Paul Craig said. Cindy Craig said it is heartwarming. “And Kansas City as a whole,this area never fails when it comes to helping,”she said.“The love and compassion of the community has just really come through.”

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